Van Gogh Painting Still Missing, Alarm-Free Museum Remains Clueless

Yesterday, a museum in Egypt reported a $55 million van Gogh painting stolen. It turns out the painting was cut from its frame during business hours, and all of the museum's alarms, plus seven of 43 security cameras were disabled.

Yesterday, culture minister Farouk Hosni claimed authorities had arrested two Italians in connection with the crime, but later retracted the statement. And today, Egypt's top prosecutor, Abdel Meguid Mahmud told reporters, "There are 43 security cameras but only seven are working. Each painting is protected by an alarm but again, none are working." He added that officials from the Mahmoud Khalil Museum had been looking for spare parts to fix the alarms but couldn't find them.

And the best part? The painting — called "Poppy Flowers" and "Vase of Flowers" — has been stolen (and later recovered) before.